Lidar systems and methods

Abstract

A LIDAR system for detecting objects in a surrounding environment of an autonomous vehicle comprising: a radiation source configured to emit output beams; a scanner configured to direct the output beams onto a given region of interest within a field of view. The scanner comprises: a first reflective surface configured to receive at least a portion of the output beams and transmit as a first spread beam along a first spread axis; and a second reflective surface configured to receive at least a portion of the output beams and transmit as a second spread beam along a second spread axis, the second spread axis being different than the first spread axis, wherein the given region of interest comprises a first portion defined by the first spread beam, a second portion defined by the second spread beam, and a third portion between the first portion and the second portion which is a blind zone.

1 . A LIDAR system for detecting objects in a surrounding environment of an autonomous vehicle, the LIDAR system comprising:
 a radiation source configured to emit output beams along an internal emission pathway;   a scanner positionable along the internal emission pathway and configured to direct the output beams onto a given region of interest within a field of view, wherein the scanner comprises:
 a first reflective surface configured to receive at least a portion of the output beams and transmit as a first spread beam along a first spread axis; and 
 a second reflective surface configured to receive at least a portion of the output beams and transmit as a second spread beam along a second spread axis, the second spread axis being different than the first spread axis, 
 wherein the given region of interest comprises a first portion defined by the first spread beam, a second portion defined by the second spread beam, and a third portion between the first portion and the second portion which is a blind zone. 
   
     
     
         2 . The LIDAR system of  claim 1 , wherein the first and second portions comprise outer portions of the given region of interest and the third portion comprises a central portion of the given region of interest. 
     
     
         3 . The LIDAR system of  claim 1 , wherein the first reflective surface has a first angle with respect to a reference plane and the second reflective surface has a second angle with respect to the reference plane, the first and second angles being different. 
     
     
         4 . The LIDAR system of  claim 1 , wherein the first reflective surface has a first angle with respect to a reference plane and the second reflective surface has a second angle with respect to the reference plane, the scanner being configured such that one or both of the first angle and the second angle can be modulated. 
     
     
         5 . The LIDAR system of  claim 1 , wherein the first reflective surface and the second reflective surface are part of a same scanning face of the scanner. 
     
     
         6 . The LIDAR system of  claim 5 , wherein the same scanning face is non-planar and the first reflective surface and the second reflective surface are angularly off-set from one another. 
     
     
         7 . The LIDAR system of  claim 1 , wherein the first reflective surface and the second reflective surface are part of different scanning faces of the scanner. 
     
     
         8 . The LIDAR system of  claim 6 , wherein the different scanning faces are embodied as one or more of an oscillating mirror and a prism. 
     
     
         9 . The LIDAR system of  claim 1 , further comprising a controller communicatively coupled to the radiation source and the scanner, the controller being configured to cause relative movement between the output beams and the scanner for selective contact of the output beams with the first reflective surface and the second reflective surface. 
     
     
         10 . The LIDAR system of  claim 9 , wherein the controller is configured to move the scanner for selective contact of the output beams with the first reflective surface and the second reflective surface. 
     
     
         11 . (canceled) 
     
     
         11 . (canceled) 
     
     
         12 . The LIDAR system of  claim 1 , wherein the first reflective surface and the second reflective surface are made of different materials. 
     
     
         13 . The LIDAR system of  claim 1 , wherein the scanner is a rotating prism and the first and second reflective surfaces are on a face of the rotating prism. 
     
     
         14 . The LIDAR system of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first reflective surface and the second reflective surface is immovable relative to the other. 
     
     
         15 . The LIDAR system of  claim 1 , further comprising a receiver for receiving reflected output beams from the given region of interest. 
     
     
         16 . A method for detecting objects in a surrounding environment of an autonomous vehicle, a controller of a LIDAR system configured to execute the method, the method comprising:
 causing a radiation source of a LIDAR system to emit output beams along an internal emission pathway of the LIDAR system;   causing a scanner of the LIDAR system, positioned along the internal emission pathway, to direct the output beams into the surrounding environment of the autonomous vehicle with a given region of interest in a field of view (FOV), the scanner having first and second reflective surfaces configured to generate first and second portions of the given region of interest with a blind zone inbetween.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the controller is configured to cause relative movement between the output beams and the scanner for selective contact of the output beams with a given reflective surface according to one or more of (a) a predetermined schedule, (b) responsive to a determination from a sensor signal that a scan of a given region of interest within the FOV is required, (c) responsive to a geographical trigger, and (d) responsive to an environmental trigger. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein causing the relative movement comprises the controller causing the scanner to move in a direction to parallel to an elongate plane of the scanner. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein causing the relative movement comprises the controller causing a direction of travel of the output beam to change. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein causing the relative movement comprises causing the scanner to selectively oscillate about different axes of oscillation. 
     
     
         21 . The LIDAR system of  claim 1 , wherein the scanner is an oscillating mirror and the first and second reflective surfaces are on a face of the mirror.